In This Issue:

• Coastal Calendar
• FEATURE: A Perfect Moment for Mid-Atlantic Sea Change
• Waging War Against Invasive Species
• Statewide Grant Program Successfully Shores Up Marina Industry
• A Natural Tourism Alternative
• Preparing Future Science Teachers for Service

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The Jersey Shoreline

A Perfect Moment for Mid-Atlantic Sea Change

by Jay Odell, The Nature Conservancy

(cont'd from page 1)
     Why is now the perfect time to move from analysis and theory to actually implementing a more thoughtful, forward-looking and integrated ocean management system for the Mid-Atlantic? There are at least five reasons:

1.   Because we usually don’t change our ways until the pain of changing is perceived to be less than the pain of not changing, and ocean ecosystems, already significantly damaged, are facing a new era of unprecedented activity. Energy facilities, diverse recreational uses, offshore drilling, shipping superhighways, commercial fishing, and aquaculture facilities are competing for the use of limited ocean space. New demands on ocean resources are particularly apparent in the Mid-Atlantic region as states seek to develop offshore wind power capacity to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and dependence on foreign oil.

2.   We have new science, tools, and marine spatial data. Federal, state, and academic marine scientists have been very active advancing our collective understanding of marine ecosystem processes, stresses and services at local, regional, and global scales. In the Mid-Atlantic region, the National Marine Fisheries Service’s James J. Howard Marine Sciences Laboratory at Sandy Hook, Rutgers University, and other New Jersey Marine Sciences Consortium/New Jersey Sea Grant partners have made immense contributions.

Mid-Atlantic Seascape, Hog Island, Virginia © Hal.Brindley.com

     The Nature Conservancy (TNC) has spent over the past two years producing a geospatial database that integrates over 800 spatial data files on marine ecosystems, habitats, species and human uses for North America’s Atlantic coast (from North Carolina to Canada). This marine ecoregional assessment is scheduled for completion in late 2009. The assessment, built on a foundation of generous contributions of marine data from federal, state, and academic partners, will include a peer-reviewed narrative report, a publicly accessible online mapping and data download service, and a synthesis report showing regional scale priority conservation areas selected in consideration of the ecosystem as a whole.
     In New Jersey, the Department of Environmental Protection has a major initiative to collect and create state-scale offshore data on movements of birds and marine mammals, sensitive ecosystem features, and marine resource uses to provide a data baseline for informing wind power siting decisions. These state-scale data complement and nest within regional scale multi-state mapping products.

3.   The stage has been set with new leadership by states. In the last few years, several states on the eastern seaboard have begun to develop legislation to support new ocean policy approaches. In Massachusetts, a new Oceans Act led to a comprehensive and spatially explicit ocean management plan, now nearing completion. In Rhode Island, an existing authority under the Coastal Zone Management Act is being used to define appropriate ocean use zones for an area extending from shore out 20 miles into federal waters. New York passed a Great Lakes and Oceans Ecosystems Act and is developing plans for transition to marine ecosystem based management. In New Jersey, legislation was passed to establish a Coastal and Ocean Protection Council and the State administration is in the process of making appointments.

4.   A new regional ocean governance council has just been established. On June 4th of this year, the governors of New York, New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland and Virginia signed an agreement that created the Mid-Atlantic Regional Council on the Ocean (MARCO). The agreement outlined four broad themes for coordinated action: marine habitat protection, pollution abatement, renewable energy development, and global climate change adaption. MARCO has developed a draft list of action steps and plans to work closely with federal partners and diverse stakeholders to carry them out. This landmark agreement sets the stage for a collaborative process that has real potential for tackling and solving many of our region’s ocean management challenges. Why is the regional scale state-federal partnership approach to conservation and management so important? One reason is that most fish in our region don’t stay put in one state--they depend on clean water and intact habitats in multiple states. It should be noted that this new ocean council will seek to support and complement established fishery management entities and the Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council recently passed a resolution supporting MARCO’s efforts.

5.   The executive branch of the federal government is committed to developing national ocean policy that provides an overarching vision and the means to achieve it. President Obama recently issued a proclamation on June 12 establishing the Ocean Policy Task Force (OPTF). Staffed by senior managers from over 20 federal agencies, the OPTF released an interim report with national ocean policy recommendations on September 17. By early December 2009, the OPTF will release a new draft national framework for implementing marine spatial planning (MSP).